African Landscape 2013.Issue 3 Awf
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A resource for those involved in African conservation African Wildlife Foundation’s AFRICAN LANDSCAPE 2013.ISSUE 3 AWF IN THIS ISSUE AWF Calls for Destruction of Ivory Stockpiles, Moratoria on Domestic Trade By Philip Muruthi Senior director, conservation science urrent estimates of Africa’s elephant While recognising that some range states, Cpopulation range between 419,000 and particularly in Southern Africa, have invested 650,000, predominantly in Southern Africa in elephant conservation with positive results, (about 39 percent) and East Africa (about AWF is nevertheless urging all countries 26 percent). While populations in Southern to make a necessary sacrice in shutting AWF Species Update 6 Africa remain largely stable, those in East, down the ivory market. We therefore urge all Central and West Africa have declined due to governments to destroy all ivory stockpiles poaching and illegal wildlife tracking. is and to place a moratorium on their domestic trend is reversing the conservation gains of ivory trade, to send a clear message that the last 20 years and has begun to threaten the poaching, ivory tracking and trade will not long-term survival of the African elephant. In be tolerated. recent years, about 30,000 elephants have been killed across Africa annually. Other measures being taken Destroying stockpiles will eliminate the pos- As seizures of illegal ivory have grown in spite sibility of supplying ivory to the marketplace. of overall increased protection measures in Placing moratoria on domestic ivory trades New Lodge in Zambia 8 situ, stemming demand for ivory is crucial will ensure that illegal ivory cannot be fun- to allowing elephant populations to stabilise neled into the marketplace under the guise of once again. a legal trade. We understand, however, that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to e availability of ivory in storage, along properly conserve Africa’s elephant popula- with the legality of a domestic ivory trade in tion. AWF is taking such a multi-pronged some countries, has direct linkage to growing approach to addressing illegal wildlife traf- demand. ese conditions create the impres- cking, providing antipoaching protection sion that ivory is a legitimate commodity to be on the ground; enhancing detection at land, traded. Meanwhile, the existence of legalised sea and airports; and providing transbound- domestic ivory trades makes law enforcement ary support and collaboration between law and the dierentiation between legal and il- enforcement agencies to disrupt international Women in Conservation 11 legal ivory almost impossible. criminal networks. continued on p. 6 2 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape AWF Senior Staff Patrick Bergin The Heart of the Story Chief Executive Officer Kenya/United States he Al Shabab terrorist attack that But people are at the heart of the Afri- Jeff Chrisfield took place at Westgate Mall in Sep- can conservation story. On p. 8, you can Chief Operating Officer T United States tember hit very close to home for AWF. read about a new conservation tourism AWF is headquartered in Nairobi. While enterprise that AWF has opened in the Daudi Sumba Vice President for all of our sta are safe and accounted for, Kazungula landscape—a sport shing Programme Design and too many of us had friends, or friends of camp that not only secures a protected Government Relations friends, who were personally aected by area for elephants but also provides eco- Kenya the tragedy. Many of us will take a long nomic and community benets to area Kathleen Fitzgerald time to recover from the trauma of that residents. In the Samburu landscape, Vice President attack on our city, but we are moving AWF’s support of a nancial services for Conservation Strategy Kenya/South Africa forward with our lives. organisation has improved the lives of pastoralists who used to measure their Craig Sholley AWF and other conservation organisa- wealth by the size of their herds (p. 10). Vice President for Philanthropy and Marketing tions have asserted for some time that Our eorts there are reducing livestock United States terrorist groups are engaging in the pressure on the ecosystem, but, just as Technical Directors: illegal wildlife trade, using ivory sales to important, are providing new opportuni- fund their political agendas. e conr- ties for women. Jef Dupain Director, Great Apes Programme mation by the media that Al Shabab has Kenya indeed been involved in some of the bru- Finally, under the auspices of the US- Dave Loubser Programme Director, Climate Change Kenya Brian McBrearity Director, Conservation Enterprise Kenya People are at the Philip Muruthi Senior Director, heart of the African Conservation Science Kenya conservation story Daniel Wesonga Director, AWF AWF Conservation Schools Kenya Landscape Directors: Charly Facheux tal elephant poachings on our continent AID/Uganda Tourism for Biodiversity Director, Congo Landscape only furthers AWF’s resolve to continue Programme, AWF and Uganda Wildlife Democratic Republic of Congo our work. We must shut down the illegal Authority (UWA) are also highlighting Benson Lengalen Coordinator, Samburu Landscape wildlife trade—for the good of Africa’s opportunities for women in Ugandan Kenya wildlife and of her people. ankfully, conservation. We honored 10 female Pascal Rouamba actions by governments from around the UWA employees who have provided in- Manager, Regional Parc W Landscape world (see cover story) are showing that spiring career examples for future female Burkina Faso we can win this war against greed, hatred conservationists in Uganda (see p. 11). John Salehe and fear mongering. Director, Maasai Steppe As these pages show, even in the face of Landscape, Tanzania Human side of conservation tragedy, there is much to ght for. We Kaddu Sebunya roughout this newsletter edition, we only need to look to Africa’s magni- Chief of Party, USAID/Uganda cent wildlife, beautiful landscapes and Tourism for Biodiversity Programme have made an eort to show the human Uganda face of conservation. When conservation extraordinary people to keep us going. Nasson Tembo organisations talk about their work, the Director, Kazungula Landscape human perspective is oen overlooked. Zambia How many of us have been guilty of dis- Fiesta Warinwa cussing natural resource management, Country Director, Kenya wildlife protection and biodiversity con- Daudi Sumba servation in terms that remove people Vice president for programme design African Landscape is published from the picture? three times a year, thanks to funding and government relations support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy. P.O. Box 48177, 0100 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2710367 Fax: +254 20 2710372 [email protected] awf.org © 2013 African Wildlife Foundation 2013.ISSUE 3 3 AWF, Community Work In Brief Together to Protect AWF executives Patrick Bergin and Daudi Sumba Elephant Habitat attended the 4th Annual African Leadership Network event in Mauritius in October. WF secured more than 7,000 acres of protected land for Aelephants to roam in Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem this year, Conservation efforts in Tanzania’s Manyara Ranch as it signed lease agreements with 703 area landowners during the Conservancy have resulted in new African wild months of July and August. dog sightings on the conservancy—the first in several years. Amboseli National Park is home to about 1,400 elephants, but the park is too small to host this population and other wildlife. As they cross park boundaries, elephants frequently come into contact At the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in with farms and communities, resulting in conict. In the past few September, AWF made 2 Commitments to Action: to years, AWF has signed land-lease agreements with hundreds of build a network of 15 primary conservation schools landowners to the east of Amboseli to ensure a protected wildlife in Africa in the next 10 years and to engage African corridor between Amboseli, Chyulu Hills National Park and entrepreneurs in conservation through its subsidiary, through to Tsavo East National Park. African Wildlife Capital. e latest round of land-lease agreements were signed with the AWF recently finished conducting a large-mammal Maasai landowners of the Olgulului Group Ranch, located in the aerial census in the Kilimanjaro landscape. Initial Kitenden Corridor to the south of Amboseli extending across the reports appear positive. border into Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park. In July, 533 landowners here signed agreements with AWF to lease 5,330 acres of land for conservation. is was followed by a lease signing with USAID recently awarded AWF a third round of fund- an additional 170 landowners in August, resulting in another 1,700 ing under its Central Africa Regional Programme for acres of land set aside for elephants. the Environment (or CARPE). This will be a 5-year grant for Central Africa Forest Ecosystems Conser- “By extending the Kitenden Corridor, we aim to reduce conict vation (or CAFEC). and provide both communities and elephants with a more peaceful existence,” says AWF Vice President for Conservation Strategy Kathleen Fitzgerald. “is is a win–win situation where wildlife get the habitat they need, and communities are given a payment for ecosystem service in exchange.” On the Radar AWF launched the land lease program more than ve years ago and At the recent Great Ape Summit, attendees declared had previously beneted from support from Disneynature. With palm oil plantations to be one of the greatest these additional acres, AWF will have protected more than 25,000 threats to great apes on the African continent. acres in the region—a successful and innovative model of land conservation that has been copied by other conservation groups, including the International Fund for Animal Welfare. AWF has come out with a new technical paper on community payments for ecosystem services. To obtain a copy of the paper, visit awf.org/paymentforland AWF signed land-lease agreements with landowners in southern Kenya, protecting 7,000 acres of land for elephants.